Canopies... Arghhhhhhh!

[Guest]

I use Maskol.


Seems so much easier to me to paint a very thin layer of Maskol onto the canopy where I DONT WANT paint.


I also paint the inside. Leave to dry overnight.


Do the paintwork, then peel off the latex Maskol. Job done.

[Guest]

Phil there is not an easy method. It requires patience and attention to detail.


I use car lining tape the blue one which is very adhesive but does not leave any residue.


It is the one car sprayers use for the decoration of cars. It can be stretched around corners.


Comes in three thickness's. Best I found is a quarter of an inch.


I always cut a new strip down the centre of the tape so that I have a sharp virgin edge.


Place on the alignment of the framework. Cut each end on the frame alignment. Any mark


is covered. Lay down the cross pieces and these can over lap the first piece as the


adhesive quality is great.


Look on the underside of the plastic cockpit which gives a great clue as to whether you are


on the alignment of the frames. When you have finished all the frame edges mask with tape


all the exposed bits.


Burnish down the tape on the frame edges. I use a finger nail.


Then I coat the plastic exposed frames with very thin coat of Vallejo Matt varnish to, hopefully, seal


any edges not sealed.Also gives a good surface for the paint.


Airbrush a thin first coat. Thin as any area not sealed will be with out great seepage. Then a full coat


Then leave 48 hours. Then with a sharp preferably American Razor Blade very carefully score


along the edge of the tape lines. American Blade as it is thin and very sharp.


Then very slowly remove the tape pulling to the side rather than along the line. If there is an seepage


cut on the line. Carefully scratch with a wooden toothpick away the paint seepage. With IPA use a


small pointed cotton bud to remove carefully any residue.


Not easy. But the first thing you see on a model is the cockpit cover. If it looks rough then the model


does not look good.


Should it go wrong remove all paint with IPA and start again. Done that. Next time it will be near perfect


If possible use magnification to fix the tape and get it aligned accurately.


Laurie

[Guest]

I have a method I'm going to try next time, but the problem I have this time is the canopy is beyond repair and I need a third party canopy
Phil

Phil have you tried putting oven cleaner on the canopy and putting it in a sealed bag for an hour, this will get rid of any paint without damaging the canopy and you can do it as many times as you need to to get your canopy right, hope this helps.


scott

[Guest]

I use Maskol.
Seems so much easier to me to paint a very thin layer of Maskol onto the canopy where I DONT WANT paint.


I also paint the inside. Leave to dry overnight.


Do the paintwork, then peel off the latex Maskol. Job done.

I use this method to and I find it has worked for me all the time.


scott

[Robert1968]

I'm sure there will be multiple replies but I thought I would share my way. Sorry for the length of the reply
Let me say its not cheap, as I use Bare Metal Foil to mask all my canopies, I find it great for the ease at which it moulds to the shape and as its a lot thinner than any tape so there is never any paint step.


So after masking the canopy with the BMF and I cannot stress enough how important it is to use a new blade you need to trim your masking, the first colour should be the interior colour that your model shows as this will be visible from the interior view. Then your top coat colour should be sprayed over the top of the interior colour.


Leave it to dry then once dry I gloss mine ready to decal and weather if required. Once your done with the colours and weathering/decals use a sharp blade to carefully trim round the edges of the canopy this will break the seal from the paint and stop any paint peeling. Lift the BMF with the tip of your blade and peel back the BMF, on rare occasions you may see a little glue this can be removed with a Q-tip and a little IPA.


Now, when I was at Telford a few years back I was amazed at how clear and thin the canopies looked on the Canberra SIG table so I asked them how they achieved it. They actually dip each canopy in Klear three times, so you dip and leave 24 hours then repeat twice more. If your painted edges need to be matt, you carefully brush paint with a matt.


It seems a lot of work but I honestly think its worth the end result.


Hope this picture helps show what I achieve.


Adrian

I agree full heartedly with Adrian the BMF is good for all scale sizes and intricate masking before painting. I use it on most of canopies ( yes it's expensive) but if you buy in bulk ( I bought 5 sheets it's cheaper )


Shop around


I was going to cover one of my kits wit the stuff to give a 100% metal look


Oh and Adrian's right a new Number 10 scalpel blade as it will snag if the blades Blunt


Cheers


Robert

[Robert1968]

Shame it's out of stock!
Could that be used instead of paint for a BMF finish eg on a Mustang or Jug?

BMF can be used in place of paint but if the scale is large ( ie 1/32 you may need to plan in advance as to how many sheets you need ( could be expensive ) shop around eh


Cheers


Robert

[Alan 45]

I find it easier to hand paint canopies, thin pointed brush and a cocktail stick to remove any over spill, a cocktail stick won't mark the clear part like a scalpel will